Body cavity interior observing apparatus

Abstract

According to a body cavity interior observing apparatus of the present invention, a non-tracked region to be displayed can be switched between a first non-tracked region and a second non-tracked region which is larger than the first non-tracked region, and in a search for an affected area in which it is preferable to track a treating instrument in order to consistently align the position of treating instrument to the central part of the screen, the first non-tracked region having a smaller non-tracked region is selected, while in a treatment of an affected area in which a treating instrument is moved in a wide range of area, the second non-tracked region having a larger non-tracked region is selected, thereby an appropriate monitor screen can be provided in searching for an affected area and in treating an affected area.

1. A body cavity interior observing apparatus, comprising:
 a treating instrument which is inserted into a body cavity interior of an object to be examined includes a penetrating instrument as a guide; 
 an observing section which is adapted to be mounted to an opening portion of a body wall of the object; 
 a monitor which displays an image of the body cavity interior picked up by the observing section; 
 a marker position detecting device for detecting a position of a marker attached to a distal end of the treating instrument from the image which shows the body cavity interior picked up by the observing section; 
 a tracking device for tracking the position of the marker detected by the marker position detecting device to align the position of the marker to a central part of a screen of the monitor, 
 a region separating section which separates the screen of the monitor into a tracked region which turns ON the tracking function of the tracking device and a non-tracked region which turns OFF the tracking function of the tracking device; 
 a selecting device which selects at least one of a first non-tracked region which is positioned generally at the central part of the screen of the monitor and a second non-tracked region which is larger than the first non-tracked region, as the non-tracked region; 
 wherein the region separating section switches between the first non-tracked region and the second non-tracked region based on a selection instruction from the selecting device, and 
 when the marker is located in the non-tracked region, the tracking device does not align the position of the marker to the central part of the screen of the monitor. 
 
   
   
     2. The body cavity interior observing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the tracking device includes:
 a trimming device for trimming an image to obtain a predetermined region so that the position of the marker which is detected by the marker position detecting device is positioned at the central part of the screen of the monitor; and 
 a magnifying device for magnifying the predetermined region trimmed by the trimming device at a predetermined magnification rate to be displayed on the monitor. 
 
   
   
     3. The body cavity interior observing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the tracking device calculates a center of gravity of the marker to determine whether the marker is located in the non-tracked region.